Reid has been using the two-week congressional recess to barnstorm his home state with campaigning, touting the benefits of his work to pass healthcare reform legislation and shut down the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage project in the state, among other benefits he's sought for Nevada.

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The senate majority leader downplayed his ability to tout his own record, though, despite having run campaign ads in which he's spoken of as "America's most powerful senator."

“I'm not very good at blowing my own horn,” he told the Appeal. “Some other people will help me do that, I hope.”

Recent polls have showed Reid still trailing potential Republican opponents ahead of a fall showdown. Former state GOP Chairwoman Sue Lowden leads Reid 54-39 percent, while businessman and former UNLV basketball player Danny Tarkanian leads by a more modest, seven-point margin, 49-42 percent.

Still, the presence of independent, Tea Party candidates in the race have raised the specter of a candidate eating into the conservative and independent vote against Reid, clearing a possible path to reelection for the senator.

“Do the math,” Reid told the Appeal, pointing to the number of candidates in the race who could splinter the vote.